Welsh government joins campaign to preserve Banksy mural Britain
The arrival of a new Banksy artwork has transformed the Welsh town of Port Talbot into a cultural destination, prompting an influx of visitors from as far away as Australia and creating a cottage industry in souvenirs.
But Ian Lewis, who owns the garage the work is painted on, is having sleepless nights over its popularity. Local concerns have grown that he might sell it to an out-of-town collector who might whisk it away.
Residents, business people and politicians have come together to campaign to save the piece, with the Welsh government announcing yesterday it was paying for security to protect it and was in talks to try to secure its future.
The mural appeared just before Christmas, close to a steelworks. From one angle, it shows a child in a bobble hat with a sled, apparently enjoying a snow shower and trying to catch the flakes on their tongue. But from another, it becomes clear that what is actually falling on the child is a shower of ash.
Banksy confirmed that the work was his by releasing a video of the mural accompanied by the Christmas song Little Snowflake.
Lewis was amazed when visitors began arriving in droves, and realised that he had to find a way of protecting the piece. The community chipped in.
A local operatic company paid for it to be protected in plastic, and actor Michael Sheen, who went to college in Port Talbot, stepped in to pay for security.
Bethan Sayed, a Plaid Cymru South Wales West assembly member who has spoken with West, said one solution could be the piece being sold, loaned back to the town and set up in a more central location where it could be protected.
The Welsh government said it was looking for a long-term solution to preserve the work.